Dan Schultz-Ela

Contact Information

Education

BS, Carlton College

MS, Brown University

PhD, University of Minnesota

MS, Western Governor's University

Biography

Dan Schultz-Ela, PhD, received a bachelor's degree in geology from Minnesota's Carlton College. After graduation, he received a Fulbright grant and spent two years conducting research and working on a master's degree in geology in New Zealand. He completed his master's degree at Brown University and attended the University of Minnesota for his PhD in geology. He has since obtained a master's degree in math education from Western Governor's University.

"I really enjoy thinking about why we do the things we do and explaining the process," Schultz-Ela said. "Not just the procedures and the methods, but really thinking, 'Why did we do this? How can we represent it? How can we connect it to the other ideas?' I think those are valuable skills for elementary teachers because most of them know how to do the math, they just don't know how to explain it very well, or how to show it or think of it in different ways."

He said that in his courses, he tries to tie the concepts he teaches together and make them into a coherent whole to encourage a deep, connected, fundamental understanding of math in his students. "I have a good atmosphere in my classes and I really appreciate the students for contributing to that and making it a good experience," he said.